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Nathan Brown is the new sheriff of the self-governed badlands of Newcastle. He’s here to overhaul the place, and you better believe he’s going to do it his way – as long as it’s the Newcastle way.
Yesiree, even with Danny Buderus on staff, Chief Harragon in prominence and the Andrew Johns Stand watching over his every move, Brown’s been granted the pressure-free environment required to give the Knights the fresh start they need.
The partnership of Newcastle and Brown may sound like an unassuming 1920s proprietorship specialising in ale and plumbing, but in reality, it is a rugby league story promising chin-stroking intrigue of the highest order in 2016.
Can the new bloke renovate the famous club while maintaining its legion of heritage features?
This new union is a pairing of two ambitious and uncompromising rugby league entities, and like trying to safely pin-prick a balloon in a dark room full of silicone implants, their relationship may initially endure a careful feeling-out period.
One is back in Australia to prove his authoritarian worth after being too chummy with his players at the Dragons, while the other has recently developed a chronic reliance on local know-how, mainly due to financial constraints and because Wayne Bennett left a mess.
As we all know, Newcastle footy is one of the game’s specialised eggs.
The place is fiercely regional, staunchly territorial, and perma-proud of all their sons who have pulled on the jersey even if they are marred by regular handling errors or trafficking charges.
Sure, any map will tell you the Newcastle region is geographically inside New South Wales jurisdiction, but in their part of the world, they do things under Novocastrian laws.
This was no more apparent than in the wheezing post-Bennett years where the club reverted to typical Newcastle-centric practice with Newcastle ideals and Newcastle people in an attempt to re-Newcastle and de-Bennefy Newcastle.
This caused the organisation to be adorned with a litany of Stones and Gidleys, with players living any further from 25 kilometres outside the city centre required to front to training with a visa.
Such was the directive, one particular match saw the selection committee push for a bench made up of Kade Snowden and The Screaming Jets.
But when the club became another failed Tinkler investment, it was clear things had become a little too Newcastle. It all culminated in a well-earned spoon last year.
However, minus the real possibility of the usual spoonage of a rebuild era, one feels this is all about to change under the Brown regime.
He’s under no illusions that overhauling the place will be like trying to remove cocktails from the menu at Kokomo. But considering his new environment, he has a surprisingly fresh canvas.
With only one man over 30 on the playing list, Brown’s squad is a good mix of youth and experience without the part about experience.
On a personal level, the man himself has more unfinished business than Charles Bronson. There’s a burning after overseeing a squad at St George Illawarra that was blinding for its star power but ultimately empty-handed.
He’s here to prove to Australia he’s not just a guy who slapped Trent Barrett and failed to win a pushbike race with a Yamaha.
Many Dragons people blamed Brown’s epic failure on his quick transition from Red V player to Red V coach. They say the reason his team couldn’t win preliminary finals was because he interacted with his men like equals.
Even though it’s a rock solid theory from the punters, he’s ready to finally punch holes through it.
After completing various apprenticeships where he learnt the Hitler-like traits required of an NRL coach, Brown believes he’s grown into the hostile, socially-distant taskmaster he’s always dreamed of, a graduation he emphatically affirmed with Joseph Tapine.
The new regime begins at the Gold Coast on Sunday night where five debutantes will be trotted out against the Titans. Despite it’s high concentration of Gen-Y, even I’m excited to witness this new dawn.
While nobody is expecting instant miracles from this new odd couple, at least the youth policy is a sure sign they’re both in this marriage for the long haul.